


Mafia 1: Starscream Edition

by Windcee25



Category: Mafia (Video Games), The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One, Transformers: Cyberverse, Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015)
Genre: F/M, Gang Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:54:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26909953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Windcee25/pseuds/Windcee25
Summary: Mafia 1: Remastered Edition in the Transformers Universe. Starscream from an average joe to a mobster for Megatron's gang. As he works with the gang, he starts to question his life choices and what will affect him later in his life.
Relationships: Starscream & Windblade (Transformers), Starscream/Windblade (Transformers)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. The Start

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings labeled for this relates to the actual deaths and violence depicted and shown in Mafia 1: Remastered Edition. If you want to read this work, I think it's better to watch or play the game before reading this. You'll understand the plot and what's going on in Mafia 1: Remastered Edition. (More chapters to come). Also, some events took place in the past so passages in italics happened in the past, and some characters' names are abbreviated to fit the text better.

**Downtown Iacon City, 9:15 am…**

Nightbeat exited out of the elevated metro system, with a case in his hand. The transport system was a bit busy, several people were getting off and on trains, cross-city ships, or (if they had the energy) travel in their alt forms, traveling through the air or on freeways and/or sidestreets. He walked down the stairs, passing some who were going up the stairs to the inbound trains. The streets were a bit crowded with people going to and from places; Nightbeat tried to pass through the flow of traffic, sometimes hitting someone accidentally on the side. He crossed an intersection under the elevated metro line, crossing the street over to a cafe nearby.

Nightbeat entered the cafe, looking around the place before laying his optics on one particular mech, sitting by himself except for a femme waiter talking to him. There were a few other patrons around the cafe, but the particular mech was the only one smoking inside. Nightbeat walked to him and asked him something.

**Nightbeat** : “You Starscream?”

**Starscream** : “Yeah.”

**Nightbeat** : “Detective Nightbeat.”

Nightbeat places his case on the table before sitting down at the table Starscream was sitting at, sliding into his seat opposite of Starscream.

**Starscream** : “You followed?”

**Nightbeat** : “Nothing but me came over here. I sometimes work with my partner, Muzzle, but he’s not coming. Don’t worry.”

The femme waiter came to their table with a pot of piping hot Energon coffee in her hand.

**Waiter** : “What can I get you?”

**Nightbeat** : “Just the coffee miss.”

The waiter pours the coffee into his cup as Starscream continues to smoke his cigar.

**Nightbeat** : “So, you said on the phone you might have a proposition for me?”

**Starscream** : “That’s right.”

**Nightbeat** : “If you’re looking for cash in return, then you called the wrong person. I’m no ATM or a piece of scrap iron.”

**Starscream** : “Good, because I’m not looking for that and I can’t even buy a single cup now. But I have something to trade.”

**Nightbeat** : “Let me hear it.”

**Starscream** : “How long you’ve been here in Iacon City.”

**Nightbeat** : “A few years. Traveled from place to place to solve mysteries or looking for clues, moving to different cities when there are no crimes to solve.”

**Starscream** : “You’ll like this when I’ll tell you.”

Starscream gets out a newspaper with the headline saying “MEGATRONUS DIES IN CRASH” with an image under the headline; it was a picture of Megatronus dead in his pool of his own Energon, covered in scratches and blaster holes. Nightbeat looks at it for a second and was interested about it.

**Nightblast** : “Oh yeah? What’s it to you?”

**Starscream** : “Want some help with this case?”

**Nightbeat** : “You have any clues that will help me with that case?”

**Starscream** : “Yeah, I might have a thing or two.”

**Nightbeat** : “What do you want in return for your service? Money? Immunity?”

**Starscream** : “Protection. I need to protect my wife and daughter.”

**Nightbeat** : “Ah, family’s always the Achilles heel, ain’t it? And no one else to watch your back?”

**Starscream** : “I wouldn’t be here if there was any.”

**Nightbeat** : “My sire always said a mech needs allies if you’re going to survive in life.”

**Starscream** : “For me, it’s the other way around.”

**Nightbeat** : “No surprise there. Look, I can’t promise anything for you or your family until I hear what you’re trading. So you either start talking or I force your head through the table. You may have a shot to live long enough to see your precious daughter walk down the aisle.”

**Starscream** : “Primus, I don’t know how everything went into disarray.”

**Nightbeat** : “No one sees it until it’s too late. You weren’t born into the mod, did you?”

  
**Starscream** : “No, I was a taxi driver in this ship taxi service, going from one section of the city to the other. That was many years ago.”


	2. An Offer You Can't Refuse

**_Several years ago near downtown 10:45 pm…_ **

_ Starscream was at his taxi, ending one of his night shifts. He parked it in a spot reserved for taxis and exited, taking a break by getting out a cigarette and smoking it. _

**Starscream** : “I drove nights since the money was better than in the daytime. It was during the end of one of those shifts when I first met Acidstorm and Thundercracker...”

**_Near the outskirts of Iacon…_ **

_ Thundercracker and Acidstorm were trying to escape from several gang members in some ships while in their ship. The ships twisted and turned bends as it went around building, Thundercracker and Acidstorm still trying to shake them off. The ships chasing them opened fire with the blasters attached to it, but Thundercracker shot down one of them using his own blasters, shooting the thrusters and causing it to crashland into the streets below. They didn’t realise that there was anothership in the air and they tried to avoid it. _

**TC** : “Watch out!”

_ Starscream heard the crash and then another crash. He went to see what’s going on but was interrupted by Thundercracker running to the taxi. _

**TC** : “Get up, ‘Storm! There’s a taxi here! We’re going to be okay!”

_ Starscream threw away his cigarette, realising who they really are. _

**TC** : “Move it! Come on!”

_ Starscream opened the door for Thundercracker and he got in while Acidstorm limped to the taxi and opened the other door. He got into the cockpit and started the thrusters while Acidstorm got into the seat right next to him. _

**Starscream** : “Where to?”

**AS** : “Anywhere. Fast.”

_ Starscream started to take off into the skies of Iacon before Thundercracker pointed a blaster at him. _

**TC** : “I’ve got a blaster pointed at you! If they catch up we’re dead: but you don’t get to walk away.”

**Starscream** : “I don’t want any trouble!”

**TC** : “Well you got trouble! Drive!”

**AS** : “How the pit they knew we’ll be there?”

**TC** : “It doesn’t matter now! We need to lose them!”

**AS** : “How many are chasing us?”

**TC** : “One for now.”

_ Starscream started flying, trying to find ways to lose the current chasing ship. Then he noticed a building with two towers, close together and were connected by a bridge, nearby and decided to use it to his advantage. _

**Starscream** : “Hold tight! I’m going to try something.”

_ He steered towards the towers, flying towards the bridge before dodging the bridge at the last second. The ship chasing them saw the bridge too late and crashed into, exploding on impact. _

**Starscream** : “Who were those guys?”

**TC** : “Hey, you don’t get to ask questions! We need to get to downtown.”

**Starscream** : “Okay.”

**TC** : “How’s your leg doing?”

**AS** : “Really hurts.”

**TC** : “When we’re back, I’ll go wake up the doc.”

**AS** : “I don’t know. It might be okay.”

**TC** : “He’s getting the call anyway. By the way cabbie, you don’t get to listen.”

**Starscream** : “All I’m doing is taking you guys where you want to go.”

**TC** : “So do that.”

_ Starscream tries to get to downtown, steering towards the direction of it but he then saw several more ships flying behind them. _

**Starscream** : “More of them!”

**AS** : “Aww scrap!”

_ Starscream started flying faster, trying to find more ways to lose the current chasing ships until he had a few ideas up his sleeve.  _

**Starscream** : “I know some short-cuts that’ll slow them down.”

**TC** : “I don’t care how you do it - just shake them off!”

_ He does what he said, going into a deep nosedive into a freeway below. At the last second, he pulls up, hovering on the freeway and flying into oncoming traffic since they were traveling in the opposite direction of the flow of traffic. Starscream dodged every incoming vehicle, even an oncoming semi. One of the ships hits the said semi, crashing into it before Starscream pulled up. _

**TC** : “That was your short-cut?”

**Starscream** : “I lost them didn’t I?”

**AS** : “Not all of them.”

**Starscream** : “These guys really don’t like you do they?”

**AS** : “Sometimes business partners fall out. It happens.”

**TC** : “Quit talking ‘Storm. The more he knows, the more chance he’s going six feet under.”

**Starscream** : “I didn’t hear a thing, guys.”

_ Since he was still over the freeway, he was flying over a few bridges. There were two bridges that were close together with enough space for a ship to fly through. So he dove down into the small gap between the bridge, almost scraping the sides of his ship as he went through and almost hit a vehicle on the freeway. Another ship that was chasing them wasn’t so lucky; the ship scratched into the side of the gap, ripping one of the thrusters off and causing it to crash onto the freeway. _

**TC** : “You left him in the dirt!”

**AS** : “We ain’t clear yet! Keep driving!”

**TC** : “They must’ve sent word out. There’s more and more of them. We’re not going to last long unless we get back to our own turf. Let’s get back to our neighborhood.”

_ There were several ships still chasing them and Starscream knew he could evade all of them. He then saw two arks, meant to haul lots of people and/or cargo for long distances over the galaxies. They were passing each other, heading each other and there was a gap, closing as they got closer to each other. So he decided to do the craziest thing and head to the closing gap. _

**AS** : “Uh, the arks are closing into each other right?”

**Starscream** : “Yeah, we can make it.”

_ Starscream turned the throttle to full, making the ship go faster and tried to beat the arks. _

**AS** : “What the pit are we doing!?”

**TC** : “Just sit tight and pray!”

_ They just made it by several millimeters, almost scraping the sides of the arks as they whizzed by them. The ships chasing them stopped, not wanting to get themselves killed by crashing into the sides of the ark or getting crushed between the arks. _

**TC** : “Never done that before.”

**AS** : “Me neither.”

**TC** : “Okay, so  sub-level six in the lower-east quadrant : now. Your night’s not over.”

_ Since they were going in a different than downtown, Starscream turned the ship, heading towards the center of Iacon.  _

**AS** : “I didn’t see this coming. You think he squealed?”

**TC** : “I think you zip uptight. We talk it through back at the bar.”

_ Starscream kept flying, flying around buildings and bridges. There were several places to land since they were landing places for taxis for him or for transformers who have an air vehicle alt form. They kept flying around downtown until Thundercracker saw one particular building. _

**AS** : “Land over in front of that bar.”

**Starscream** : “Macadam’s?”

**AS** : “Yeah, that’s the one.”

_ Starscream lands the taxi on the landing pad right near the entrance of Macadam’s. Acidstorm and Thundercracker start to exit the ship. _

**AS** : “Wait here.”

**Starscream** : “What for?”

**AS** : “You want a little something from the don or not?”

_ Thundercracker carries Acidstorm to the entrance of Macadam’s and enters the bar. There were two mechs guarding the door as they enter. Starscream got out a cigarette and lit it, starting to smoke again. The mechs outside the bar looked at him as he smoked before Acidstorm came walking out. He was holding something in his hand and he came to Starscream, holding it up to him through the window. _

**AS** : “Compensation for your services and any damage to your ship. That makes us square.”

**Starscream** : “I’m sure it’s more than enough.”

**AS** : “Good. Don Megatron wants you to know that he’s very grateful. So, if you ever need anything m, make a loan or some honest work, don’t hesitate to ask. The Don doesn’t forget his friends.”

**Starscream** : “Yeah, okay, thanks.”

**AS** : “One more thing. This matter stays between us. Anyone asks where you got that money, you won it at poker. And the scratches on your ship? You swerved to keep from hitting another taxi. You got that?”

**Starscream** : “Of course.”

**AS** : “See you around man.”

_ Acidstorm walks back into the bar while Starscream takes off, going back to his home which was a slum apartment. It was small and miserable, but it was cheap to buy. When he got home, he took a look at his payment. _

  
**Starscream** : “When I opened the envelope, I could’ve had a spark attack. Enough to fix the ship. Nearly enough to buy a new one. I thought about what Acidstorm had said about work. I wasn’t interested. The money was good, sure, but I didn’t want to get in with criminals. Better to be poor and alive than rich and dead. So right there, back then: I was out.”


	3. Running Mech

**_A few weeks after the incident, on the streets of Iacon in the morning..._ **

**Starscream** : “After the night with Salieri’s guys, I was back working soon as I could. But it felt different. You get a lot of time with your thoughts when you’re a cabbie. And other people’s thoughts too...”

_ Starscream was waiting outside of his ship, smoking his cigarettes while waiting for a passenger to deliver to their destination. Then an old femme came over to him. _

**Old Femme** : “You there! Driver?”

**Starscream** : “Yes ma’am?”

**Old Femme** : “Are you driving or loitering?”

**Starscream** : “Driving ma’am. Always driving.”

_ Starscream gets into his ship and allows the femme to enter the taxi.  _

**Starscream** : “Where to?”

**Old Femme** : “The Great Dome. Directly.”

_ Starscream started the engines and took off, heading towards the great dome at the center of the city. The femme asked him to drive carefully because she was old and she didn’t like rough drivers. It took a few minutes to get there and that was his first passenger of the day. He landed right next to the dome, right near an entrance to get into the dome. _

**Starscream** : “Here you go. The Great Dome. That’ll be five credits.”

**Old Femme** : “The onlt tip I’ll give you is to stop smoking in your vehicle. I felt I was sitting in an ashtray..”

  
  


**Starscream** : “Sure. Whatever you say.”

_ Starscream took off again, trying to find another fare to pick up. He traveled a bit until he saw a fare waving their hand. He landed and let him in. _

**Random Mech** : “Art Gallery. Get me there quick.”

**Starscream** : “Sure. Quick. I can do.”

_ Starscream took off, heading towards the art gallery Iacon was having that day. He traveled fast because the mech said so. It took a while to get there because of some traffic and trying to avoid breaking any laws. He landed near the front of the Art Gallery and unlocked the doors for him. _

**Random Mech** : “Thanks pal. There’s five credits, don’t spend it all at once.”

**Starscream** : “I'll try not to.”

_ Starscream left the Art Gallery, pissed by the fares being assholes to him  _ (according to him) _. He soon found another fare just a mile from the Art Gallery. It was Waspinator, not looking good and he allowed him into his ship before he took off. Waspinator talked in a slurred and dizzying voice. _

**Waspinator** : “Oh boy, you look like shit.”

**Starscream** : “I've been working since five, what’s your excuse?”

**Waspinator** : “Booze.”

**Starscream** : “Figures. Where are we going?”

**Waspinator** : “Anywhere in the lower-east quadrant of this city.”

**Starscream** : “Okay, if i don’t tell the cops about the alcohol in your breath - you don’t tell them when i break the limit. Good deal?”

**Waspinator** : “Great deal .”

_ Starscream headed towards that corner of Iacon that Waspinator told him to go. He passed by Maccadams. Waspinator then told him to specifically land near a certain spot. Starscream followed and landed, Waspinator gave him his fare and told him to rest. _

**Waspinator** : Hey, my cousin has a coffee stand around the corner. Tell him Waspinator sent you, take a break, huh? .”

**Starscream** : “Thanks. Might just do that.”

_ Starscream got a cup of energon coffee from the stand Waspinator told him about and sat in his ship as he relaxed inside. He was parked in a spot where it would disrupt any ships landing at landing pads. Everything was fine until something smashed the side window open and cracked the windshield before someone forcefully opened the driver door. It was Lug and he was smashing Starscream’s ship with a lead pipe. _

**Tailgate** _ :  _ “Hey, how you doin’ pal? You remember me?”

_ Tailgate pulls Starscream out of his ship as Lug continues to smash his ship. Then he starts kicking him, kicking him in the chest and in the face. He stops and Starscream covers his face up after feeling all the pain. _

**Tailgate** _ :  _ “Huh? Megatronus is a little bent. Shouldn’t be helpin’ Megatron’s goons, huh? Now i have to give you a beatin’, just so you always remember who runs this town. Make it so you won’t do much walkin’ for a while.”

_ Starscream gets up and shoves Tailgate into Lug before running away from them. _

**Tailgate** _ :  _ “Look at this mech. I didn’t think he’d make it fun. Let’s get him.”

_ Starscream started running from Tailgate and Lug, running away from them while they Tailgate shot at him, missing him by inches. He ran across several streets, climbed/jumped over fences and walls, ran through allies, and through crowds which got frightened when Tailgate kept firing at him, dispersing the crowds. Starstream then started climbing several flights of stairs to the top where Maccadam’s bar was. When he got there, Acidstorm and Thundercracker were outside. _

**TC** : “Look at this.”

_ Thundercracker said as he drank his coffee while Starscream stumbled to them. Meanwhile Lug and Tailgate catched up with him running up towards them. Thundercracker went into the bar after he finished his cup. _

**AS** : “How you doin’? Tailgate. Lug. You got business with Megatron?”

**Tailgate** _ :  _ “Nah. We’re just trying to talk to that cabbie over there, that’s all.”

**AS** : “That right? Well, this here’s Megatron’s favorite driver. So anythin’ you gotta say to him, you can say to me.”

**Tailgate** : “Is that right? Well, let me tell you somethin’ pal. We ain’t leavin’ empty handed, that’s for sure.”

**TC** : “Well then maybe you ain’t leavin’ at all.”

_ Thundercracker comes out of the bar, wielding an energon shotgun, pumping it a single time and then aiming it at Lug and Tailgate. _

**Tailgate** : “Okay then. See you boys around. Let’s go Lug.”

_ Thundercracker chuckles as Tailgate and Lug leave and Starscream leans against the wall, still panting after running a lot. _

**Starscream:** “Thanks.”

**AS** : “Least we could do.”

**TC** : “C’mon. Let’s go say hi to Megatron.”

**Starscream:** “Megatron?”

**AS** : “Yeah. He’s gonna wanna hear about this.”

_ Starscream, Thundercracker, and Acidstorm all walk into the bar and Starscream shakes hands with Shockwave while Thundercracker places the shotgun on the bar as they head into the back room. _


	4. Molotov Party

**_Inside Maccadam’s…_ **

_ Inside the back room, Starscream and the other two seekers stand at the table, waiting for Megatron to come. Then he finally comes, coming through the door while smoking his cigar. Behind him was Shockwave and Megatron stepped into the room, giving a look at Starscream for a bit. He gestured for them to sit down at the table and the seekers sat down before Megatron did; Shockwave didn’t sit down, standing somewhat behind him. _

**Megatron** : “What do they call you, son?

**Starscream:** “Starscream.”

**Megatron** : “Thundercracker told me you ran into some trouble?

**Starscream:** “Yes sir. My ship got smashed up pretty good.”

_ Thundercracker interrupted. _

**Thundercracker** : “Megatronus’s things went after him, on account of Screamer helping us --”

_ Megatron gestured to him to keep quiet. _

**Megatron** : “This, uh, taxi, that your livelihood?”

**Starscream:** “Yes sir.”

**Megatron** : “I feel a sense of responsibility here. So, I’m going to set you up with a small loan, enough to get that cab of yours fixed up.”

**Starscream:** “I appreciate that sir, but I’m not looking for a handout.”

**Megatron** : “Then what are we doing here?”

**Starscream:** “I just want a shot at the basters who wrecked my ship.”

_ Megatron chuckles a bit when he hears him. _

**Megatron** : “Hah! You hear that Shockwave? The minibot wants my permission to get into a fight.”

**Shockwave:** “Yes, I heard.”

**Megatron** : “Okay, Starscream. All of Megatronus’s troops hang out at a bar he owns. Thundercracker, you know the place.”

**Thundercracker:** “Sure do boss.”

**Megatron** : “Good, you can ride along with Screamer. There’s a parking lot right next to the bar where they park their ships. Go smash up a few tin cans, send Megatronus a message. He can’t rough up hard-working Joes in my neighborhood without getting a broken optic.”

**Starscream:** “Thank you Megatron. I won’t let you down.”

_ Megatron nods and Thundercracker and Starscream stand up and head food the door. _

**Megatron** : “And Screamer, when you get back, we’ll talk about what’s next for you.”

_ Starscream nods as the two head out to the back of the building. _

**Thundercracker:** “I’ll take you to Swindle. He’s a loudmouth, but Shockwave and Megatron have known him since forever.”

**Starscream:** “What’s he do?”

**Thundercracker:** “We go see him whenever we need to do any, uh, heavy lifting. He makes sure we’re well-heeled for when there’s trouble.”

_ The head outside of the building and into an open space where no buildings were built except for a big garage where vehicles are being fixed and a second floor where Swindle was. So Starscream and Thundercracker head up to the second floor to meet him. _

**Thundercracker:** “Good morning Swindle!”

_ Swindle was at a table, cleaning an energon shotgun as they entered. He also pumped it a few times to see if it works properly _

**Swindle:** “Hello Thundercracker. Oh, she’s gonna sing…”

_ Swindle takes a look at starscream. _

**Swindle:** “Who’s this then?”

**Thundercracker:** “Swindle, this here’s Starscream. We’re doing a little job together.”

_ Swindle shakes hands with Starscream. _

**Swindle:** “Alright, good, good. You need bean shooters or rods?”

**Thundercracker:** “Nah. We just need something to write off a few ships.”

**Swindle:** “Oh, I just got the thing.”

_ Swindle gets a metal baseball bat from under a desk. _

**Swindle:** “This classic should do the trick. If the bat don’t work out for you, I got a few cocktails here.”

_ Swindle gets a crate of molotov cocktails from a shelf. _

**Swindle:** “Careful with ‘em, though, Don’t want to burn off your paint.”

_ They laugh and Starscream takes a couple of cocktails for him. Then they head out and go downstairs to the first floor again. _

**Thundercracker:** “Fixit is in the garage. He’s a special kinda idiot, but he’s got a way with cars. I don’t get how this moron gets engines to purr, but i’m tellin’ you, it’s like some kinda black magic.”

_ They head towards the entrance of the garage and Thundercracker gestures to him to keep quiet. They slowly creep in and they see Fixit fixing one of the ships already inside. Then Thundercracker surprises him. _

**Thundercracker:** “Hey Genius!”

_ This surprises Fixit, hitting his head on the top of the open hole he was working in. Starscream and Thundercracker laughed as he hit his head. _

**Thundercracker:** “Haha! Get your head out of your aft!”

_ Fixit rubs his head, still feeling the pain. _

**Fixit:** “The frag there, Thundercracker! You guys can’t just leak - speak - sneak up on a guy like that!”

**Thundercracker:** “I’m sorry Fixit, I’m just bustin’ your tanks.”

_ Thundercracker pats Fixit on the back. _

**Fixit:** “I see you’re still pimping - skipping - limping. Guess we got two cripples working here.”

_ That didn’t suit Thundercracker that well. _

**Thundercracker:** “We ain’t nothin’ alike, you got that, Fixit.”

**Fixit:** “Sure, Thundercracker, yeah.”

**Starscream:** “Starscream.”

_ Starscream shakes hands with Fixit. _

**Fixit:** “Good to meet you.”

**Thundercracker:** “Like i said, here’s a cracked egg. But you bring him a stolen ship. He’ll make it yours. Screamer and me, we got a job to do, we need a ride.”

**Fixit:** “How about this one, Thundercracker? It ain’t stylish, but it’ll get you across frown - clown - town.”

_ Fixit gives Thundercracker the keys and he hands it to Starscream. _

**Thundercracker:** “Alright, let’s go. You’re driving. An’ don’t let me catch you loafin’ off again!”

_ They enter the vehicle and they head off to Megatronus’s bar. _

**Fixit:** “One day I’m gonna cut your airbrake line, afthole...”

_ As they traveled to the bar, Starscream started to learn about how the gangs of the city functioned as they traveled into Megatronus’s area.  _

**Thundercracker:** “We’re gettin’ onto Megatronus’s turf now.”

**Starscream:** “There’s some kind of line between his streets and Megatron’s streets?”

**Thundercracker:** “Not really. There’s always some give and some take. Though in general we look after the Southeast quarter, and his guys work in the Northwest quarter - and more besides. If you’re walking on the wrong sidewalk, in the wrong part of the city, you start getting a sense you need to be someplace else. You can feel it long before they start appearing on street corners to stare you down.”

_ Then they saw the bar and landed on the other side of the road, across from the bar and in a parking lot. _

**Thundercracker:** “Okay, it’s close by.”

_ They exit the ship and head towards the bar, walking across the street. _

**Thundercracker:** “Megatronus’s goons smoke and jaw up front, and leave their ships out back. They’re some lazy bastards. They put some soldier on guard duty - but it’s always some no-name schmuck.”

_ They reach the parking lot behind the bar, nearing the gate where the ships enter and exit. _

**Thundercracker:** “Come on. Over here. You gotta sneak in, and wreck the ships. Send a message.”

**Starscream** : “Sure”

_ Starscream asked him a question. _

**Starscream** : “Why are you coming with?”

**Thundercracker:** “To see if you get shot.”

_ They entered an alley near the lot and Thundercracker crouched down and sneaked along the wall. _

**Thundercracker:** “Okay, we go quiet. You know how to go quiet right?.”

_ Starscream followed him, crouching down and sneaking along the wall as well. _

**Thundercracker:** “Yeah, like that. If no-one sees our heads, no-one tries to pop ‘em.”

_ They reach the end of the alley where there was a gate to a lane where the ships enter to get into the lot and a wall blocking another alley. _

**Thundercracker:** “Get over this gate and up onto the roof, and I’ll go keep their chump busy while you creep up and jump him from behind.”

_ Starscream jumped over the wall and made his way into the parking lot. On the roof of a small building in the parking lot, he hid behind the barrier as Thundercracker distracted the guard at the gate. The guard was a bit pissed at his presence but it bought Starscream enough time to get behind him and knock him out, grabbing his neck and squeezed it with his arms until he passed out. After that he just left him there. Then Thundercracker went through a door near the gate to the lot. _

**Thundercracker:** “So let’s get these cars. Take your bat and start swinging.”

_ Starscream got to work, smashing a few ships by denting parts of each ship or destroyed the windows of each ship. It wasn’t long before the gang members heard what’s going on. _

**Thundercracker:** “Aw, scrap.”

_ A couple of mechs from the bar came out from the back door and started attacking him and Thundercracker, but they were easily dealt with after he punched one unconscious and the other one by the bat from Starscream. _

**Thundercracker:** “C’mon Screamer, quick. There’s gonna be more of them. Use a Molotov and let’s see some flames.”

_ Starscream lit one and threw it at one ship and then he did it again to another ship, causing them to burn and then blow up, making a large boom and destroying other ships next to the burning ships. _

**Thundercracker:** “Yeah, Megatronus’s crew would’ve heard that.”

**Starscream:** “Whole block heard that.”

**Thundercracker:** “We gotta go! We can take Tailgate’s ride.”

**Starscream:** “How’d you know this is Tailgate’s ride?”

**Thundercracker:** “If I don’t like you and you got a good car, I’m gonna know where you keep it.”

_ Starscream and Thundercracker got into the ship and started the engine. Just then, Tailgate came out and saw them taking off, crashing through the gates of the parking lot. _

**Tailgate:** “My ship!”

_ Starscream put the pedal to the metal, trying to escape from the police chasing them. He tried to lose some of the ships chasing them; going through construction sites, taking shortcuts, and just driving at high speeds. Eventually, they hid in an ally so the cops would drive by, not noticing they were parked in there. They waited several minutes and then Thundercracker decided it was long enough. _

**Thundercracker:** “We’re good. Let’s head back and see the boss.”

**Starscream:** “I thought Megatron had the badgeless on the books?”

**Thundercracker:** “Some of them, yes. But Megatronus has the chief in his pocket.”

_ As they headed back to the bar, flying back through the public skyways, Thundercracker asked him something. _

**Thundercracker:** “So how’d it feel? It feel good?”

**Starscream:** “How’d what feel?”

**Thundercracker:** “Taking out the guy. Taking Tailgate’s ship. It feel good?”

**Starscream:** “Yeah… I guess it did.”

**Thundercracker:** “There’s no time like the first time ‘Screamer. It don’t get better.”

_ A few minutes later they arrive at the bar and the park in the garage where Fixit was. He was quite surprised that they came back with a completely different ship than the one they left with a while ago.  _

**Fixit:** “What happened to the chip - slip - ship i sent you out with?”

**Thundercracker:** “Dumped it.”

**Fixit:** “Shy - Pie - Why?”

**Thundercracker:** “It was a piece of scrap. This one is better.”

**Fixit:** “A better ship, with a broken window?”

**Thundercracker:** “Fresh air never deactivated nobody.”

_ Fixit was a bit frustrated, but decided it wasn’t a big deal. So he headed back into the garage and continued with his work. Thundercracker and Starscream headed back into the bar and made their way to the meeting room again. _

**Thundercracker:** “Hey boss. It’s done.”

**Megatron:** “No trouble?”

**Starscream:** “Nothing we couldn’t handle, Megatron.”

**Megatron:** “Good, good. Sit down.”

_ Starscream sat down at an available table. _

**Megatron:** “You see Megatronus?”

**Thundercracker:** “No. But he’ll be plenty pissed when his boys tell him what happened.”

_ Megatron gladly chuckles in delight. _

**Megatron:** “He’s not going to think straight for weeks. See, that’s the difference between me and Megatronus. I’m a businessman. I do everything with this. Every decision I make, it’s what’s good for business and my boys. But Megatronus… He’s a hothead. And all that anger, burns out the brain. When he gets mad, he gets stupid.”

**Thundercracker:** “You got nothin’ like that to worry about with ‘Screamer here. He was aces the whole way, boss.”

**Megatron:** “I’m glad to hear it. I’ve got a growing business here. We could use a mech like you to help out around the bar, maybe run some errands, and make sure that bills get paid on time. You up for that?”

**Starscream:** “Oh, it’d be an honor, sir.”

**Megatron:** “Good, good. Now, Thundercracker and Acidstorm have already vouched for you, but you need to understand we have a few rules around here. So you listen, and listen good. First, no cursing on the premises, There’s a million words out there, and the man needs to resort to ‘frag this’ and ‘frag that’ is just ignorant or lazy. Second, we don’t deal in the hard stuff. I don’t want any high people around here. We’ll let Megatronus poison his own people, if that’s what he wants. Finally, stay out of trouble with the badgeless. We only have a few on the payroll, and if you cross a line, the rest’ll come after you. You understand?”

**Starscream:** “Yes, Megatron.”

**Megatron:** “Then I’m gonna ask you for one more thing, Starscream. I don’t keep Tundercracker and Acidstorm around just because they’re strong. A lot of other guys out there bigger and tougher than these two. And i don’t keep Shockwave on the payroll because he’s smart, though he is an artist with the numbers. All these guys, in this room, they’re here because they have the only thing that matters to me. The only thing that should matter to any of us. You know what that is, Starscream?”

_ There was a brief moment of silence after he said that. Megatron looked at Starscream, waiting for an answer. The others looked at him as well, waiting for a response. Then Starscream spoke. _

**Starscream:** “They’re loyal.”

**Megatron:** “That’s right. Now you stay straight with me, you’re gonna be livin’ the high life, Starscream. But, you abuse my trust, well…”

**Starscream:** “Megatron, you won’t ever need to worry about me.”

**Megatron:** “Okay then.”

_ Megatron stands up and walks to Starscream before stopping, standing a few feet from him. _

**Megatron:** “Welcome to the family.”

_ Starscream stands up and goes to Megatron, offering his hand to shake. He accepts and they shake hands. _

**Megatron:** “Excellent. Now I’m starving. Macadams! Let’s eat!”

_ Megatron walks out and Shockwave follows, stopping to congratulate Starscream. _

**Shockwave:** “Welcome.”

_ Shockwave exits the room and Thundercracker pats him on the back as he exits too. The last person to congratulate him was Acidstorm. _

**Acidstorm:** “Our barman Macadam’s not much a cook, but his daughter Windblade? Marone.”

_ They head out together so they could eat as well, starting out great with his new family. _


End file.
